15Th South African Psychology Congress, Cape Town, South Africa

No Abstract

1St Southern African Students Psychology Conference, Gaborone, Botswana

No Abstract

Community Engagement: International Day of the Older Person 2009

No Abstract

Vegetation and Avifauna Distribution in the Serengeti National Park

In order to examine the bird species changes within different vegetation structures, the variations were compared between Commiphora-dominated vegetations with those of Vachellia tortilis and Vachellia robusta-dominated vegetations, and also compared the birds of grassland with those of Vachellia drepanolobium and Vachellia seyal-dominated vegetations. This study was conducted between February 2010 and April 2012. A total of 40 plots of 100 m × 100 m were established. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test was used to examine differences in bird species between vegetations. Species richness estimates were obtained using the Species Diversity and Richness. A total of 171 bird species representing 103 genera, 12 orders, and 54 families were recorded. We found differences in bird species distribution whereby V. tortilis has higher bird species richness (102 species), abundance, and diversity when compared with Commiphora with 66 species and V. robusta with 59 species. These results suggest that variations in bird species abundance, diversity, and distribution could be attributed to differences in the structural diversity of vegetation. Therefore it is important to maintain different types of vegetation by keeping the frequency of fire to a minimum and prescribed fire should be employed and encouraged to control wildfire and so maintain a diversity of vegetation and birds community

Mobile inquiry-based learning with sensor-data in the school: Effects on student motivation

The paper discusses the design, implementation and evaluation of a pilot project that integrated inquiry-based learning with mobile game design and introduced mobile devices and sensors into classroom learningweSPOT Project - IST (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement N° 318499The project was supported by the SURFnet innovation grant for sustainable ICT solutions

From the cell membrane to the nucleus: unearthing transport mechanisms for Dynein

Mutations in the motor protein cytoplasmic dynein have been found to cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, spinal muscular atrophy, and severe intellectual disabilities in humans. In mouse models, neurodegeneration is observed. We sought to develop a novel model which could incorporate the effects of mutations on distance travelled and velocity. A mechanical model for the dynein mediated transport of endosomes is derived from first principles and solved numerically. The effects of variations in model parameter values are analysed to find those that have a significant impact on velocity and distance travelled. The model successfully describes the processivity of dynein and matches qualitatively the velocity profiles observed in experiments

Avifauna in Relation to Habitat Disturbance in Wildlife Management Areas of the Ruvuma Miombo Ecosystem, Southern Tanzania

Understanding of relative distribution of avifauna provides insights for the conservation and management of wildlife in the community managed areas. This study examined relative diversity, abundance, and distribution of avifauna in selected habitat types across five Wildlife Management Areas of the Ruvuma landscape in miombo vegetation, southern Tanzania. Five habitat types were surveyed during the study: farmland, swamps, riverine forest, dense and open woodland. Transect lines, mist-netting, and point count methods were used to document 156 species of birds in the study sites. Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare species richness and diversity across habitat types. We found differences in avifaunal species distribution in the study area whereby farmland had the highest abundance of avifauna species and lowest in the riverine forest. These results suggest that variations of avifauna species abundance, diversity, and distribution could be attributed by human activities across habitat types; due to the reason that habitats with less human encroachment had good species diversity and richness. Therefore, to improve avitourism and avoid local extinction of species, we urge for prompt action to mitigate species loss by creating awareness in the adjacent community through conservation education on the importance of protecting such biodiversity resources

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types